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This week, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, "Opening Day should be a national holiday as far as I'm concerned," and let me just say I wholeheartedly agree. Man, isn't it great that meaningful baseball is back?
On the Opening Day of the 2021 season, Shane Bieber had 12 strikeouts against Detroit, old man Miguel Cabrera showed he's still got something left in the tank and launched the first homer of the 2021 season, and then rising star Ke'Bryan Hayes launched a two-run blast in his first plate appearance of the season. And that was just in the two early games I watched. Life is just better when there's baseball.
But enough of that, you all already know how Opening Day went, and you want to hear about who you should be targeting for two-start streamers in Week 2. The good news is there are plenty of options for you this week, as the majority of the two-start guys are the No. 4 and 5 pitchers in their rotations — guys who aren't necessarily rostered in many leagues. Without further ado, let's dive into the first two-start steamers of 2021.
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Week 2 Streamers — Under 50% Rostered
Jordan Montgomery, NYY - 37%
Probable Opponents: vs BAL, @ TBR
Montgomery has shown some solid strikeout numbers in his career, albeit they have come in limited playing time as he missed most of 2018 and 2019 due to Tommy John surgery. He owns a 22.4 percent strikeout rate in 230 2/3 career innings with the Yankees, and last season he recorded a 24.4 percent strikeout rate and 4.7 percent walk rate in 44 innings. And while his ERA was 5.11 in 2020, it appears he suffered from some bad luck as he sported a 3.87 xERA.
His first two starts of the year will come against a couple of familiar opponents, as he has seven career starts against the Orioles and six against the Rays. Montgomery's matchup with Baltimore should be an ideal one for fantasy managers, as Montgomery has a career 2.92 ERA and 27 percent strikeout rate against them. The Orioles will also be without three of their top batters from last year, as Jose Iglesias and Renato Nunez are no longer with the team, while Anthony Santander is currently on the injured list. The start at Tampa Bay will be a little tougher because while he has a career 26 percent strikeout rate against the Rays, he also has a 5.14 ERA in 21 innings. The Rays struggled on offense to the tune of five hits and 12 strikeouts in their opener with Miami, so it's possible that Montgomery could still have a solid outing against them. If you're looking for strikeouts and aren't too concerned about a potential ERA hit, Montgomery is likely the best option on this list.
Taijuan Walker, NYM - 29%
Probable Opponents: @PHI, vs MIA
Just like Montgomery, Walker pitched only 14 innings between 2018 and 2019 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Splitting time last season between Seattle and Toronto, Walker looked just as good as ever as he finished with a 2.70 ERA, 1.163 WHIP, 22.2 percent strikeout rate and an 8.4 percent walk rate in 53 1/3 innings. Managers may have some concern with the fact that Walker looks like he got somewhat lucky last year, as his 5.07 xERA suggests he should have performed worse than his numbers showed, however, he looked fairly solid this spring with a 3.27 ERA and seven strikeouts in 11 innings.
The Phillies were one of the better offenses in 2020, with their 21.6 percent strikeout rate the seventh-lowest in the majors, while their .257 average, .342 on-base percentage and .439 slugging percentage were all top-10 in the majors. That being said, in his first career start against the Phillies last year, Walker was able to stymie their offense — tying his season-high with eight strikeouts while allowing just one run over six innings to earn the win. Meanwhile, Miami had the ninth-highest strikeout rate in 2020 at 24.8 percent, and they managed just three hits with nine strikeouts in their season opener. Now that's not to say Walker is as good a pitcher as Tyler Glasnow, but the Marlins don't exactly have a very scary-looking lineup. The key matchup will be against the Phillies, but if Walker can put together a comparable performance to last year's start, he'll be a solid option to stream this week.
Week 2 Streamers — Under 25% Rostered
Carlos Rodon, CHW 16%
Probable Opponents: @ SEA, vs KCR
As a White Sox fan, I should really know better than to put any faith in Rodon again. But you know what? Maybe he's finally put everything together this year. He looked great in four appearances this spring with a 1.32 ERA, 32 percent strikeout rate and a two percent walk rate. Seattle did not have a good offense last year, and Rodon has had success throughout his career against Kansas City with a 3.69 ERA and a 21.8 percent strikeout rate in 39 career innings. Maybe new pitching coach Ethan Katz has finally unlocked the secret to Rodon. If you're looking for strikeout upside and are diving deep into the waiver-wire, Rodon should be a decent option this week.
Trevor Williams, CHC 1%
Probable Opponents: vs MIL, @ PIT
Can Williams become the next Pirates pitcher to leave Pittsburgh and find success elsewhere — a la Gerrit Cole or Tyler Glasnow? OK, he's not going to do that well, but he looked great this spring with a 1.32 ERA, 21.2 percent strikeout rate and 1.9 percent walk rate in 12 2/3 innings. Out of the NL Central opponents Williams has faced in his career, he has had the most success against the Brewers with a 3.09 ERA, 26.2 percent strikeout rate and 7.9 percent walk rate in 46 2/3 innings. Then he'll have a reunion in Pittsburgh, as he faces his former teammates who were dead-last in 2020 in OBP (.284) and SLG (.357) while their 24.4 percent strikeout rate was tied for 10th-worst in the majors. This is probably going to be two of the best matchups Williams will have this year, so if you're looking for a really deep, good-not-great streaming option, Williams is your guy.
JT Brubaker, PIT 1%
Probable Opponents: @ CIN, vs CHC
There really aren't a lot of great options this week. If you're looking at Brubaker you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Brubaker did strike out 13 in 15 innings of work this spring, but he also allowed nine runs on 12 hits and three walks. The big plus Brubaker will have is that he's going up against a couple of weaker offenses in the Reds and Cubs, as they both ranked in the top-10 for highest strikeout rates (CIN: 25.2%, CHC 25.7%) and in the bottom-5 for average (CIN: .212, CHC: .220). And he beat up on the Reds and Cubs last year as well, posting a 1.84 ERA and 28.8 percent strikeout rate in three outings against the Cubs, while holding the Reds to one run in 5 1.3 innings with four strikeouts in his lone appearance against them. Brubaker is probably the most likely to blow up on this list, but if you want to gamble on him going against some weaker offense, you might be pleasantly surprised.
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